October 2016

Newsletter

A word from Richard

Hello everyone.

Wow what a weekend for the underdogs in two Grand Finals. Just goes to show you can’t under estimate your opponents. The AFL and the NRL were two amazing Grand Finals to watch. So very exciting, just like a GF should be.

Isn’t this weather strange. We’re in the middle of Spring and it’s still like Winter with chilly nights, lots of rain and some blustery strong winds. I certainly don’t mind the rain but hoping the weather will warm up a bit as the days are getting longer.

It’s on again…. Having another Bonfire in October on our lovely 3 acre property this Saturday so we do hope the weather is nice for it. The fire stack is so big that this year it just might be our biggest bonfire ever. We have a small group of friends and a bunch of kids so marsh mellows and lots of fun times to be had by all. I can’t wait. Love just hanging out with friends and having a few drinks and nice food and entertaining the kids with a bunch of games.

Business is still Green and Growing for us but we’re seeing a lot of businesses really struggling out there and even just today another one of our clients has had to close the doors. It’s always sad to hear news like that. I thank myself every day that I have built such a lovely strong business and could not have done it without my awesome team. Thanks to you clients and supporters as well.

Ok so here we go again with another great quick read with some interesting water stuff so please enjoy, and remember…. “You either use a water filter or your body is one!”

Richard Scholes

Director

West Coast Water Filter Man

Coffee-infused foam removes lead from contaminated water.

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, which makes for a perky population -- but it also creates a lot of used grounds.

Scientists now report an innovative way to reduce this waste and help address another environmental problem. They have incorporated spent coffee grounds in a foam filter that can remove harmful lead and mercury from water.

Restaurants, the beverage industry and people in their homes produce millions of tons of used coffee grounds every year worldwide, according to researcher Despina Fragouli. While much of the used grounds go to landfills, some of them are applied as fertilizer, used as a biodiesel source or mixed into animal feed. Scientists are also studying it as a possible material for water remediation.

Experiments so far have shown that powder made from spent coffee grounds can rid water of heavy metal ions, which can cause health problems. But an additional step is needed to separate the powder from the purified water. Fragouli and colleagues wanted to simplify this process.

The researchers fixed spent coffee powder in a bioelastomeric foam, which acted as a filter. In still water, the foam removed up to 99 percent of lead and mercury ions from water over 30 hours. In a more practical test in which lead-contaminated water flowed through the foam, it scrubbed the water of up to 67 percent of the lead ions. Because the coffee is immobilized, it is easy to handle and discard after use without any additional steps, the researchers say.

Water facts

Supercooling and "Instant" Ice

Everybody knows that when you cool water to 0 °C (32 °F) it forms ice ... except that in some cases it doesn't! You can actually chill very pure water past its freezing point (at standard pressure, no cheating!) without it ever becoming solid.

Scientist know a lot about supercooling: it turns out that ice crystals need nucleation points to start forming. These nucleation points could be anything from gas bubbles to impurities to the rough surface of the container. Without these things, water would continue to be a "supercooled" liquid well below its freezing point.

Health Tip

Exercise daily. Drink plenty of filtered water.

Take every opportunity you can to move your body. Take the stairs. Get off the bus one stop early. Ride a bike. Run after the kids. Get those endorphins pumping! and carry a refillable bottle filled with filtered water.

Community support

The Salvation Army's Christmas Appeal

The Bikers Charity Ride are " doing it for the kids" in the annual Perth Teddy bears' big day out; which raises funds for The Salvation Army's Christmas Appeal. Richard loves this yearly ride on his Harley laden with teddy bears. www.salivation.org.au

SIDS and Kids

Anglicare WA

Anglicare WA is a not for profit community services agency. They provide 57 services from 35 locations across the state. The West Coast Water Filter Man is proud to help and sponsor the Anglicare Knit in Day. www.anglicarewa.org.au

Here's the list of networking groups I regularly attend

Customer testimonial

Annimac

Just had a lovely visit from Derek who provided the usual excellent service that we all know is normal for WFM – beautiful way to start a superb spring day, with a happy worker doing good stuff with good products.

Obviously part of a great team at a great organisation. Thx, Derek, thx Richard !